The Voyage to Magical North (US)

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Brine Seaborne is a girl with a past – if only she could remember what it is. Found alone in a rowboat, clutching a shard of the rare starshell used for spell-casting, she’s been keeping house for an irritable magician and his obnoxious apprentice, Peter, ever since.

When Brine and Peter get themselves into a load of trouble and flee, they blunder into the path of the legendary pirate ship, Onion. Before you can say “pieces of eight” they’re up to their necks in the pirates’ quest to find Magical North, a place so shrouded in secrets and myth that most people don’t even think it exists. If Brine is lucky, she’ll finally find out who she is. And if she’s unlucky, everyone on the ship will be eaten by sea monsters. It could really go either way.

Reviews

With memorable characters, extraordinary adventures, and a world that will stay in the reader’s mind long after the book is closed, The Voyage to Magical North is one of the best middle grade fantasy books of the year so far. Barnes and Noble Kids’ Blog

Welsh author Claire Fayers buoys her seaworthy series debut The Voyage to Magical North with agreeably understated humor, over-the-top sea monsters and nuanced characters. This finely spun adventure is the very definition of swashbuckler, but also thoughtfully examines ideas of story, good vs. evil, instinct vs. rules and self-discovery. A treasure.” Shelf Awareness starred review

This pirate yarn rollicks with the best of them, led by the convincingly legendary Cassie but handily assisted by Peter’s magic and Brine’s quick thinking. Fayers’s fantastical world—complete with invisible polar bears, man-eating penguins, and vengeful whales—makes the voyage north fraught with dangers, but the crew is stouthearted and true and quite funny, and Brine’s quest to discover where she comes from lends depth to the madcap events. The Horn Book

The beautiful cover design reflects the charming adventure within; this multilayered fantasy handles a variety of themes, including the meaning of family, the ability of power to corrupt, and the importance of stories. VERDICT Upper elementary and younger middle grade fans of Lynne Jonell’s The Sign of the Cat will be enchanted by Brine’s high seas adventure. School Library Journal